Dubai: A carpenter told a court on Thursday that battered his roommate’s head with a pan and stabbed him to death because he had poisoned his food several times.

The 56-year-old Indian carpenter was said to have taken his countryman roommate by surprise while he was asleep and battered his head with a pan, then stabbed him with a kitchen knife in December.

Medical reports confirmed that the victim’s death was instant, his face was disfigured and the skull and facial bones were completely fractured due to the severity of the assault.

Records stated the carpenter had been taken to hospital a few hours after the attack. He was treated for knife wounds in his belly that he had himself inflicted.

Prosecutors accused the 56-year-old suspect of premeditatedly killing the victim in a labour accommodation in Al Qouz.

According to the accusation sheet, prosecutors said the suspect battered the deceased with a pan repeatedly on his head when he was sleeping and stabbed him twice.

When the Indian showed up before the Dubai Court of First Instance, he pleaded not guilty and contended that he did not intend to kill him.

When asked by presiding judge Urfan Omar on why he pounded the victim’s head with a pan and stabbed him with a knife, the suspect replied: “I do not know what happened to me. I was sleeping and woke up suddenly. I stabbed him but I did not intend to kill him … I was not aware of what I was doing.”

Presiding judge Omar then interrupted the suspect and asked him: “Did you hit him on his head?”

“Yes I did because there was hostility between us. He and his friends previously tried to poison my meals several times,” replied the 56-year-old.

A police lieutenant testified to prosecutors that the victim’s face was beyond recognition due to the brutality of the attack.

“The suspect had been brought to hospital to treat some knife wounds that he inflicted on himself in a suicide bid a few hours after the crime. During questioning, the suspect admitted that he killed the victim due to previous disputes … he alleged that the deceased used to ridicule him and film him while sleeping and circulate the photos among their friends. The suspect also admitted that he had tried to kill himself with a knife that he purchased that day from a nearby supermarket,” the lieutenant told the prosecutors.

The carpenter was quoted as admitting to prosecutors that he had intended to kill the victim and had decided to commit the crime the night before.

The court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect when it reconvenes on May 11.

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